Display apparatus

ABSTRACT

A display apparatus transmits a picture acquisition request for getting picture information to an external image apparatus connected through a predetermined interface to the display apparatus from the external image apparatus at predetermined intervals and gets a plurality of pieces of picture information from the external image apparatus to be displayed. The plurality of pictures may be switched at predetermined intervals, for example, to be displayed, so that the plurality of pictures may be displayed in a so-called slide show manner. A plurality of pictures for thumbnail may be produced from the plurality of pieces of picture information and be arranged together to be displayed in one picture screen of a display device.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/521,282, filed on Oct. 22, 2014, which is acontinuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/868,840,filed on Apr. 23, 2013, which is a continuation application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/252,422, filed on Oct. 16, 2008, whichclaims priority from Japanese Patent Application JP 2007-269651 filed onOct. 17, 2007, all of which are incorporated by reference herein intheir entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a technique for displaying pictureinformation from an image apparatus connected to a display apparatusthrough an interface in the display apparatus.

In order to connect an image apparatus with an image display apparatuswhich is another image apparatus to make viewing and listening ofpicture, a method using analog connection to transmit picture and audiosignals is used. However, with the spread of digital apparatuses, amethod using digital connection to encrypt picture and audio signals tobe transmitted is used from the viewpoint of prevention of deteriorationin picture quality and protection of copyright.

The digital transmission using one cable conforming to the IEEE 1394standard is known as an example thereof. In the digital transmission,mutual authentication is performed between a transmission apparatus anda receiving apparatus and picture and audio signals are multiplexedafter the authentication, so that the multiplexed data is subjected toencryption processing named DTCP (Digital Transmission ContentProtection) to be transmitted.

As another example, an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface)system is known. In the HDMI system, a baseband signal of a highdefinition picture signal and an audio signal are multiplexed in atime-shared manner and are subjected to encryption processing named HDCP(High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) to be transmitted.

Such conventional technique in which the digitized picture and audiosignals are multiplexed to be transmitted is disclosed in US2003169370A1, for example.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Since the IEEE 1394 standard is used for a network and has a limitedtransmission rate at which transmission and receiving can be made, thehigh definition picture signal having increased information amountcannot be transmitted as it is the baseband signal. Accordingly, theIEEE 1394 standard has a problem that the baseband signal must becompressed to reduce the transmission rate thereof and be transmitted.On the other hand, in the HDMI system, it is not considered that anapparatus which receives the transmitted high definition picture signalrecords the received signal.

Moreover, these systems are premised on connection between stationaryapparatuses installed in homes and it is not sufficiently consideredthat the image display apparatuses are connected with portableapparatuses such as digital cameras and mobile telephones conveniently.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems and itis an object of the present invention to provide a technique forimproving the convenience in case where picture gotten by a portableimage apparatus such as, for example, digital camera and mobiletelephone is displayed in a display apparatus.

According to the present invention, a picture acquisition request forgetting picture information from an external image apparatus connectedthrough a predetermined interface to a display apparatus is transmittedto the external image apparatus at predetermined intervals, so that aplurality of pieces of picture information can be gotten from theexternal image apparatus to be displayed.

The plurality of pictures gotten thus may be switched at predeterminedintervals, for example, to be displayed, so that the plurality ofpictures may be displayed in a so-called slide show manner Furthermore,a plurality of thumbnail pictures may be produced from the plurality ofpieces of picture information to be arranged together in one picturescreen of a display device.

According to the present invention, the convenience in case wherepicture gotten by the portable image apparatus such as, for example,digital camera and mobile telephone is displayed in a display apparatuscan be improved.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following descriptions of the embodiments of theinvention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an example of animage apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A to 3E show the order of processing of compressed signal;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an example of animage display apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating another example ofan image display apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a systemincluding two image apparatus connected to each other;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a systemincluding an image display apparatus and an image apparatus connected toeach other;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a systemincluding two image apparatuses connected to each other by radio;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example of a systemincluding two image apparatuses connected to each other by radio;

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates an embodiment of an image displayapparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 schematically illustrates another embodiment of an image displayapparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 shows an example of thumbnail display of the embodiment;

FIG. 13 shows another example of thumbnail display of the embodiment;

FIG. 14 shows another example of thumbnail display of the embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a table showing an example of attribute informationcorresponding to still pictures stored in a memory 1018 of an imageapparatus 1020;

FIG. 16 illustrates an configuration example of HDMI interface;

FIG. 17 shows an example of a format of a remote-control code;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of a method of transmittingthe remote-control code by CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) line; and

FIG. 19 is a table showing an example of maker codes and apparatus codescorresponding to interfaces stored in the image display apparatus 200.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are now described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.1, 3 image apparatuses are shown by way of example. One is an imageapparatus 100 of, for example, portable type capable of receiving adigital broadcast signal transmitted from a base station antenna 20 ofmobile telephones or a broadcasting transmission tower 30, another is animage display apparatus 200 and still another is a receiver 300 such as,for example, a tuner capable of receiving the digital broadcast signaltransmitted from the broadcasting transmission tower 30. The imageapparatus 100 and the image display apparatus 200 are connected through,for example, bidirectional interface 10 and the image display apparatus200 and the receiver 300 are connected through another bidirectionalinterface 11. Thus, bidirectional communication of picture signal andother information and signal between the apparatuses can be attained.

In the embodiment, the portable image apparatus 100 contains digitalcamera, video camera, mobile telephone, game machine, personal mediaplayer and the like, concretely. The requisite constituent elementsthereof are not necessarily identical in accordance with the respectiveaspects, although the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 mainly containsconstituent elements requisite for input/output to external apparatuses.

In FIG. 1, the base station antenna 20 of the mobile telephones and anantenna 102 of the image apparatus 100 make transmission and receptionof signal. When the image apparatus 100 is used as mobile telephone, theimage apparatus 100 performs signal processing as usual mobiletelephone. Furthermore, the image apparatus 100 can also receive contentsuch as movie transmitted from the base station antenna 20 of mobiletelephone. In this case, the content can be also viewed and listened bya display device and an audio output device included in the imageapparatus 100 or by a large display screen of an external image displayapparatus 200 through a terminal 101, a connection cable 10 and aterminal 201. Moreover, the content can be stored in a storage mediumincluded in the image apparatus 100 or in a storage medium (for example,memory 121) connected to the image apparatus 100 while being viewed andlistened or in order to make viewing and listening of the content later.The memory 121 can be used as a recording medium for recording movie andthe like.

Similarly, a program broadcasted from the broadcasting transmissiontower 30 can be received by a broadcasting receiver 180 of the imageapparatus 100 to be viewed and listened by the image apparatus 100 andcan be recorded in a storage medium (not shown) included in the imageapparatus 100 or in a storage medium (for example, memory 121) connectedto the image apparatus 100. Further, the program can be viewed andlistened by the image display apparatus 200 through the terminal 101,the connection cable 10 and the terminal 201.

Furthermore, the program broadcasted from the broadcasting transmissiontower 30 can be received by a receiving antenna 310 connected to thereceiver 300 to be inputted to the receiver 300 through an antennaterminal 302 and is subjected to proper signal processing to be viewedand listened by the image display apparatus 200 through a terminal 301,a connection cable 11 and a terminal 202. Another program selected atthe same time as the viewing and listening or differently from theviewed and listened program can be also stored in a storage medium (notshown) included in the receiver or in a memory 321 through a memoryinterface 320. The memory 321 included in the receiver 300 and in whichthe program is stored can be connected to a memory interface 120 of theimage apparatus 100. When the image apparatus 100 is taken out of thehome and the program stored in the memory 321 is displayed in a displayapparatus (not shown) included in the image apparatus 100, the programrecorded in the home can be viewed and listened outside of the home.

Moreover, a photographing device 110 and a microphone 112 can be mountedin the image apparatus 100, so that still picture and moving picture canbe photographed together with voice by the photographing device and themicrophone and can be stored in a storage medium (not shown) included inthe image apparatus 100 or the memory 121 properly. The picture andvoice stored in the included storage medium or memory 121 can be viewedand listened by the image display apparatus 200 through the terminal101, the connection cable 10 and the terminal 201.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, wired cables for the connectioncables 10 and 11 are connected between the terminal 101 of the imageapparatus 100 and the terminal 201 of the image display apparatus 200and between the terminal 301 of the receiver 300 and the terminal 201 ofthe image display apparatus 200, respectively. However, whentransmission and reception of signal are made between the imageapparatuses, it is not necessary to connect therebetween by means ofwired cables and connection therebetween may be made by radio. Theconnection by radio can eliminate troublesomeness in wiring andarrangement of wiring. The method using the connection cable has themerit of being strong to interference such as noise as compared with theconnection by radio.

FIG. 2 illustrates a concrete configuration of the image apparatus 100of FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. InFIG. 2, the photographing device 110 takes in moving picture and stillpicture inputted through an optical system to be converted intoelectrical signals. A compression circuit 111 uses a compression systemsuch as, for example, MPEG 2, MPEG 4 or AVC/H. 264 for the movingpicture and further uses a compression system such as, for example, JPEGfor the still picture to bit-compress the taken-in pictures efficiently.

On the other hand, the microphone 112 converts sound wave intoelectrical signal. A compression circuit 113 uses a compression systemsuch as, for example, MPEG audio to bit-compress the taken-in audiosignal efficiently.

When still picture is taken by the image apparatus 100, the imageapparatus is rotated to take a lateral position or longitudinal positionin accordance with an object to be taken so that the picture is taken. Asensor 114 detects that the image apparatus 100 is used in the lateralposition or the longitudinal position for photographing. When the imageapparatus 100 is used in the longitudinal position, the sensor 114detects simultaneously whether the right side or the left side of theimage apparatus 100 is up. Information detected by the sensor 114 issupplied to a microprocessor 115.

A multiplexing circuit 116 is supplied with the bit-compressed picturesignal and audio signal from the compression circuits 111, 113 andvarious information from the microprocessor 115 and multiplexes them inaccordance with a predetermined format. When still picture is taken, theaudio signal may be multiplexed in synchronism with photographing of thestill picture, although the audio signal is not taken in usually.

The various information from the microprocessor 115 contains positioninformation (lateral position, right side in longitudinal position andleft side in longitudinal position) detected by the sensor 114, date,exposure information upon photographing and the like.

FIGS. 3A to 3E show the order of signal processing for each blockperformed by picture compression generally. As shown in FIG. 3A, thesignal processing is performed in order from left to right of anuppermost line or first line of a picture and then performed in orderfrom left to right of a second line of the picture. As shown in FIG. 3B,when the image apparatus 100 is set in the longitudinal position withthe right side thereof up, the signal processing is performed from lowerside to upper side of a leftmost column and then performed from lowerside to upper side of a second column from the left. As shown in FIG.3C, when the image apparatus 100 is set in the longitudinal positionwith the left side thereof up, the signal processing is performed fromupper side to lower side of a rightmost column and then performed fromupper side to lower side of a second column from the right.

When the image apparatus 100 is set in the longitudinal position uponphotographing, the photographed picture cannot be displayed in thedisplay device as it is photographed when there is no informationindicating which of right or left is up. Accordingly, the positioninformation is multiplexed on the picture signal and audio signal asvarious information from the microprocessor 115. The compressed signalis extended and the extended picture is subjected to the signalprocessing of 90-degree rotation using the position information to matchoutput of the display device, so that the picture can be displayed as itis photographed.

Moreover, instead of multiplexing the position information, themicroprocessor 115 supplies the position information to the compressioncircuit 111 to control the compression circuit 111 as shown by dottedline directed from the microprocessor 115 to the compression circuit 111in FIG. 2. Thus, the compression circuit 111 can process the compressionsignal in accordance with photographing operation of picture andphotographing position of the image apparatus 100 to thereby eliminaterotation processing upon reproduction of picture. For example, as shownin FIGS. 3D and 3E, processing of compression signal can be performedfrom left to right of the upper line of the picture upon photographingand then from left to right of the second line on the basis of theposition information, so that the picture can be displayed uponreproduction as it is photographed.

When the image apparatus 100 can photograph both of still picture andmoving picture, the still picture is photographed in the lateralposition or in the longitudinal position as described above. Similarly,there is a user who considers using the image apparatus 100 in thelongitudinal position even in case of photographing of moving picture.

The signal processing of rotation is not generally provided for movingpicture and when the moving picture is displayed by the image displayapparatus 200 as it is, the picture rotated laterally is displayed toresult in photographing unintended for the user.

Accordingly, when the user rotates the image apparatus 100 to use it incase where the user takes photograph in a moving picture mode, thesensor 114 detects that the image apparatus 100 is used in thelongitudinal position and the microprocessor 115 displays a message tocall user's attention in a display device 160. The display device 160 isused as a monitor of picture being photographed by the photographingdevice 110 and the user can confirm the message easily whilephotographing, so that when it is not intended, user's attention iscalled so that the user changes the photographing position to the usuallateral position.

Further, simultaneously, when the image apparatus is used in thelongitudinal position, the microprocessor 115 sends position informationto the compression circuit 111 to control the compression circuit 111.Thus, the compression circuit 111 performs the compression signalprocessing from left to right of the uppermost line in the longitudinalposition as shown in FIGS. 3D and 3E, for example, so that picture canbe reproduced in accordance with photographing operation of the pictureand photographing position of the image apparatus 100. Consequently, thepicture can be viewed in the longitudinal position even by a currenttelevision set. Detailed description thereof is made later.

In FIG. 2, the signal multiplexed by the multiplexing circuit 116 isstored in a storage device 130 through an encryption/decryption circuit140. The storage device can use, for example, hard disk device, opticaldisc device, semiconductor memory device and the like and which storagedevice is used may be decided in consideration of desired memorycapacity, size, ease of taking out a storage medium and price. Moreover,the signal may be stored in the memory 121 through a signal processingcircuit 124 and the memory interface 120.

Since a photographer has the copyright on information photographed bythe photographer personally, the information is not required to beencrypted usually when it is stored. However, since there is apossibility that the information stored in the storage device 130 islost, an output signal of the multiplexing circuit 116 is encrypted bythe encryption/decryption circuit 140 and then stored in the storagedevice 130 or the memory 121, so that the stability can be enhanced.

The image apparatus 100 can sometimes accept a removable memory andsometimes has the mobile telephone function and the radio LAN (LocalArea Network) function. The memory interface 120 is an interface for theremovable memory 121. Still picture, moving picture and audio contentcan be recorded in the memory 121 by means of another apparatus and thememory 121 can be connected to the interface 120, so that the contentrecorded in the memory 121 can be recorded in the storage device 130through the signal processing circuit 124 and the encryption/decryptioncircuit 140.

At this time, the signal processing circuit 124 detects whether thecontent recorded in the memory 121 is copyrighted and a copy thereof islimited or not and the content is encrypted by the encryption/decryptioncircuit 140 in accordance with conditions to be moved to the storagedevice 130.

Similarly, even when still picture, moving picture and audio content arereceived by a radio interface 122 and inputted to the image apparatus100, the still picture, moving picture and audio content are recorded inthe storage device 130 through the signal processing circuit 124 and theencryption/decryption circuit 140. Even in this case, the still picture,moving picture and audio content are encrypted by theencryption/decryption circuit 140 in accordance with the protection ofcopyright for content and conditions of limitation of copy if necessary.

When the content stored in the storage device 130 is reproduced to beviewed and listened, an input key or a remote-control device not shownis used to select the content desired to be viewed and listened and theselected content is read out from the storage device 130. The read-outcontent is decrypted by the encryption/decryption circuit 140 and aredivided into picture signal and audio signal by a demultiplexing circuit141.

Furthermore, when broadcast is received by the broadcasting receiver180, the received broadcast encrypted for broadcasting is decrypted bythe encryption/decryption circuit 140 and is then subjected toencryption processing for storage by the encryption/decryption circuit140 if necessary to be stored in the storage device 130 or the memory121. When received broadcast is viewed and listened directly, thereceived broadcast is divided into picture signal and audio signal bythe demultiplexing circuit 141.

The divided and compressed picture signal is extended by an extensioncircuit 142 and inputted to a signal processing circuit 150. The signalprocessing circuit 150 converts scanning lines thereof in synchronismwith scanning lines of the display device 160 and supplies the picturesignal to the display device 160.

The divided and compressed audio signal is extended by an extensioncircuit 143 and inputted to an audio output device 161. In this manner,since the image apparatus 100 includes the display device 160 and theaudio output device 161, the image apparatus 100 can make viewing andlistening of picture and sound without connecting the image displayapparatus externally. When there is any time difference in picturedisplay and audio output due to difference in time required for theextension processing of the picture signal and the audio signal and thepresence of the conversion processing of scanning lines, the feeling ofwrongness is caused. Since the feeling of wrongness is increased when ittakes time to perform the picture signal processing and the audio signalprecedes the picture signal, the audio signal is delayed in theextension processing, for example, so that a so-called lipsynchronization is performed. Thus, the feeling of wrongness due todeviation or shift of the picture signal and the audio signal can beeliminated.

In contrast, when the picture signal and the audio signal are viewed andlistened by the external image display apparatus 200, the scanning linestreatable by the image display apparatus 200 are confirmed and when thescanning lines coincide with the scanning lines of the picture signal tobe displayed, the picture signal is outputted as it is. When both of thescanning lines are different, the signal processing circuit 150 convertsthe scanning lines of the picture signal into requisite scanning linesand a multiplexing circuit 170 then multiplexes the time axis of theaudio signal processed by the signal processing circuit 151. The signalprocessing circuit 151 compresses the audio signal in time axis duringthe period corresponding to the blanking period of the picture signaland performs time adjustment for lip synchronization if necessary. Thepicture signal and the audio signal multiplexed by the multiplexingcircuit 170 are supplied to an encryption circuit 171 to be subjected toencryption processing required to be transmitted between the imageapparatus 100 and the image display apparatus 200, so that the picturesignal and the audio signal are supplied to the image display apparatus200 through an interface 172 and the terminal 101.

As described above, when the image apparatus 100 is used in thelongitudinal position in spite of moving picture and the compressionsignal processing is performed as shown in FIGS. 3D and 3E, the signalprocessing circuit 150 converts the scanning lines into scanning linesin number capable of being photographed by image display apparatus 200.In this case, parts where picture is not displayed are produced on rightand left sides of the display screen. The picture is displayed in thedisplay device 160 in a so-called side-panel state.

Further, when the signal outputted from the terminal 101 is stored in areceiving side thereof, the compressed signal is outputted withoutextending the compressed signal. In this case, the compressed signal isinputted to the encryption circuit 171 from the encryption/decryptioncircuit 140 to be subjected to encryption required for transmission andis outputted through the interface 172 and the terminal 101.

In the foregoing description, the picture signal and the audio signaltaken in from the microphone 112 and the content inputted from thememory 121 and the radio interface 122 are once stored in the storagedevice 130 and then reproduced. However, when the storage is notnecessary or when direct viewing and listening are made, the picture andsignals may be processed by the demultiplexing circuit 141 withoutperforming encryption and encryption/decryption processing for storagein the encryption/decryption circuit 140. In this manner, the displaydevice 160 and the audio output device 161 included in the imageapparatus 100 can be used to make viewing and listening of picture andvoice or the picture and voice can be viewed and listened by thereceiver connected externally through the output interface 172.

FIG. 4 illustrates concrete configuration of the image display apparatus200 shown in FIG. 1. The like elements are designated by the likereference numeral and description thereof is omitted.

First, description is made to the case where a signal inputted from theterminal 201 or 202 is a baseband signal of uncompressed moving picture.The signal inputted from the terminal 201 or 202 is supplied to anencryption/decryption circuit 211 through an input/output interface 210.The encryption/decryption circuit 211 makes encryption corresponding tothat of the encryption circuit 171 shown in FIG. 2 and decrypts thesignal encrypted by the encryption circuit 171. The decrypted signal issupplied to a demultiplexing circuit 250 and the picture and audiosignals are supplied to signal processing circuits 251 and 252,respectively. The signal processing circuit 251 performs conversion ofscanning lines and resolution in accordance with the number of pixelscapable of being displayed in a display 260. The signal processingcircuit 252 extends the time axis of the audio signal multiplexed bycompressing the time axis during the blanking time of the picture signaland subjects the audio signal to the lip synchronization and the soundquality adjustment if necessary. The output signals of the signalprocessing circuits 251 and 252 are supplied to the display 260 and anaudio output device 270 to be viewed and listened.

Next, description is made to the case where the compressed movingpicture signal is inputted from the terminal 201 or 202. The purpose ofinputting the compressed signal is to store the moving picture signal ina storage device 230 included in the image display apparatus 200.

The signal inputted from the terminal 201 or 202 is supplied to theencryption/decryption circuit 211 through input/output interface 210.The encryption/decryption circuit 211 makes encryption corresponding tothat of the encryption circuit 171 shown in FIG. 2 and decrypts thesignal encrypted by the encryption circuit 171. The decrypted signal issupplied to an encryption/decryption circuit 240. Theencryption/decryption circuit 240 reads out copy control information ofthe content to be stored and performs encryption processing for storagein accordance with the copy control information. The encrypted signal isinputted to the storage device 230 to be stored as it is compressed.

When viewing and listening are performed while storing the compressedsignal inputted from the terminal 201 or 202, the signal correspondingto the compressed signal decrypted by the encryption/decryption circuit211 is inputted to a demultiplexing circuit 241 from theencryption/decryption circuit 240. Then, the demultiplexing circuit 241divides the signal into the compressed picture and audio signals. Thedivided picture and audio signals are extended by extension circuits 242and 243, respectively, to be returned to baseband signals and thensupplied to signal processing circuits 251 and 252. Similarly, thepicture and audio signals are supplied to the display 260 and the audiooutput device 270, respectively, to be viewed and listened.

When the content stored in the storage device 230 is reproduced to beviewed and listened, title of the content stored in the storage device230 is displayed in the display to be selected and signal of theselected content is inputted to the encryption/decryption circuit 240from the storage device 230. The signal of the selected content isdecrypted by the encryption/decryption circuit 240 to be supplied to thedemultiplexing circuit 241. The similar processing is then performed sothat the content can be viewed and listened.

Similarly, the content stored in a memory 221 can be also reproduced.Similarly to reproduction of the content stored in the storage device230, the content desired to be viewed and listened is selected from thecontents stored in the memory 221 and the selected content is suppliedto the encryption/decryption circuit 240 through a signal processingcircuit 224. The signal processing circuit 224 performs processingrequired to read out the content from the memory 221 and supplies thecompressed and multiplexed picture and audio signals to theencryption/decryption circuit 240. Subsequent signal processing is thesame as the case where the content is read out from the storage device230.

Moreover, the content can be also stored in the memory 221 in the samemanner as the case where the content is stored in the storage device230. Detailed description of the processing in this case is omitted,although the content encrypted by the encryption/decryption circuit 240is stored in the memory 221 through the signal processing circuit 224and memory interface 220.

Even when the content transmitted by radio is viewed and listened andstored, the same processing is performed. The compressed contenttransmitted by radio is inputted to the encryption/decryption circuit240 through a radio interface 222 and the signal processing circuit 224.The encryption/decryption circuit 240 decrypts the content subjected toencryption processing required for radio transmission. The subsequentprocessing is the same as the reproduction processing from the storagedevice 230.

Even when the uncompressed baseband signal is inputted from the terminal201 or 202, the content can be stored in the storage device 230 or thememory 221 efficiently. The operation in this case is now described.

The content inputted from the terminal 201 or 202 is divided intopicture signal and audio signal through the input/output interface 210,the encryption/decryption circuit 211 and the demultiplexing circuit250. The divided picture signal and audio signal are inputted tocompression circuits 281, 282 through a copy control circuit 280. Thecopy control circuit 280 reads out copy control information multiplexedon the inputted content to judge whether the content can be copied ornot. The copy control information may be a bit assigned to a designatedpart or may be multiplexed on the picture or audio information itself bymeans of the digital watermarking technique.

The compression circuit 281 compresses the picture signal by means ofthe compression system such as, for example, MPEG2, MPEG4 and AVC/H.264. Further, the compression circuit 282 compresses the audio signal bymeans of the compression system such as, for example, MPEG audio. Thecompressed picture and audio signals are supplied to a multiplexingcircuit 283 to be multiplexed and are then supplied to theencryption/decryption circuit. The subsequent operation is the same asabove and the signals can be stored in the storage device 230 or thememory 221. Thus, the content can be recorded for a long time inaccordance with copyright information efficiently.

In the embodiment described so far, description has been made to thecase where the picture and audio signals outputted from the imageapparatus 100 are transmitted to the image display apparatus.Furthermore, the case where two image apparatuses 100 are connected toeach other in the embodiment is now described with reference to FIG. 6.In FIG. 6, image apparatuses 1 and 2 are both constructed by the imageapparatus 100 of the portable type such as, for example, mobiletelephone and digital camera. A connection cable 10 which is abidirectional interface connects between respective terminals 101. Withsuch configuration, the content such as movie transmitted from the basestation antenna 20 of mobile telephone and received by the imageapparatus 1 can be transmitted to the image apparatus 2 through theconnection cable 10 and can be displayed in the display device 160 ofthe image apparatus 2. Further, the audio output device 161 of the imageapparatus 2 can be used to output the audio signal. Moreover, when thecontent stored in the storage device 130 of the image apparatus 1 istransmitted, desired content can be read out from the storage device 130on the basis of control signal from the image apparatus 2 and can bedecrypted by the encryption/decryption circuit 140. Then, the encryptioncircuit 171 subjects the content to encryption processing required totransmit the content externally and then the content is outputtedthrough the interface 172 and the terminal 101. Control signals from theimage apparatus 2 at this time contain mutual authentication forconfirming that the image apparatuses 1 and 2 are regular apparatuses,synchronous control signal for synchronizing with signal processing,transmission request signal and identification signal indicating theimage apparatus 1. Furthermore, the control signal is also transmittedfrom the image apparatus 1 to the image apparatus 2.

The signals which are transmitted and received between the imageapparatuses 1 and 2 may be not only signal received from the basestation antenna 20 of mobile telephone but also broadcast wave receivedfrom the broadcasting receiver 180, content stored in the storage device130 and content stored in the memory 121.

The image apparatuses 1 and 2 are the same image apparatus 100, forexample. The image apparatuses are connected to each other by means ofthe bidirectional interface as described above. Information such aspicture and audio signals is transmitted from the image apparatus 1 tothe image apparatus 2 and conversely information such as picture andaudio signals is also transmitted from the image apparatus 2 to theimage apparatus 1. The direction of transmitting information from theimage apparatus 1 to the image apparatus 2 is defined to “up” andconversely the direction of transmitting information from the imageapparatus 2 to the image apparatus 1 is defined to “down”. It is amatter of course that opposite directions are defined to “up” and“down”. The bidirectional interface for connecting the image apparatuses1 and 2 to each other has asymmetric transmission rates in up and downdirections, that is, the transmission rates are different in up and downdirections. When information such as picture and audio signals of wideband is transmitted in the up direction, that is, from the imageapparatus 1 to the image apparatus 2, a control signal of narrow band(as compared with picture and audio signals) is transmitted from theimage apparatus 2 to the image apparatus 1. To the contrary, wheninformation such as picture and audio signals is transmitted in the downdirection, that is, from the image apparatus 2 to the image apparatus 1,a control signal of narrow band is transmitted from the image apparatus1 to the image apparatus 2. Accordingly, the transmission rate in thedirection of transmitting picture and audio signals of wide band is setto be high whereas the transmission rate in the direction oftransmitting the control signal of narrow band is set to below. In thismanner, in the embodiment, since information and signal having differentbands in the up and down directions are transmitted between a pluralityof different image apparatuses, the picture signal requiring the wideband for transmission and the control signal capable of beingtransmitted in the narrow band can be used in the limited frequency bandsimultaneously, so that the use efficiency of radio waves is improved.Further, the control signal is transmitted not only from one apparatusbut also from the opposite apparatus if necessary.

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of the image display apparatus200 and the image apparatus 100 connected by radio in the firstembodiment. In FIG. 7, for simplification of description, other elementsexcept the input/output interface 210 and the interface 172 are notshown. In this manner, the bidirectional interface for connecting theimage apparatuses to each other is not limited to wired cable and thebidirectional interface may be constructed by radio. In this case, thedegree of freedom for disposition of apparatuses is increased.

FIG. 8 illustrates the image apparatus 100 and the image displayapparatus 200 connected by radio. In FIG. 8, the image apparatus 100 andthe image display apparatus 200 are the same as those shown in FIGS. 1and 2. For simplification of description, in FIG. 8, the only interfacecircuit 172 is shown as constituent elements of the image apparatus 100and other constituent elements are not shown. Furthermore, the onlyinput/output interface 210 is shown for the image apparatus 200 andother constituent elements are not shown. The interface circuit 172 andthe input/output interface 210 are both the bidirectional interface andhave asymmetric transmission rates in the up and down directionssimilarly to the above. In FIG. 8, channels for transmitting picturesignal, audio signal and control signals indicating protection ofcopyright for content and restriction conditions of copy are formedbetween antennas 81 and 84 and between antennas 82 and 85. In contrast,the channel between antennas 83 and 86 is to transmit an inter-apparatuscontrol signal.

Moreover, bit selection circuits 811 and 812 are supplied with picturesignal, audio signal, control signals indicating protection of copyrightfor content and restriction conditions of copy and inter-apparatuscontrol signal. In regard to the above-mentioned modulation/demodulationsystem, the QPSK modulation/demodulation system has high tolerance totransmission error as compared with the 64-QAM modulation/demodulationsystem. On the other hand, in regard to the transmission efficiency, the64-QAM modulation/demodulation system has the efficiency higher than theQPSK modulation/demodulation system. Description is made to the casewhere picture and audio signals and control signals indicatingprotection of copyright for content and restriction conditions of copyare transmitted from the image apparatus 100 to the image displayapparatus 200. The direction of transmitting information from the imageapparatus 100 to the image display apparatus 200 is defined to be up andconversely the direction of transmitting information from the imagedisplay apparatus 200 to the image apparatus 100 is defined to be down.

In order to make the image apparatus 100 transmit information, a carrierwave detection circuit (not shown) examines whether use channels arealready occupied by other apparatuses or not. Detection of carrier waveis performed by detecting whether the carrier wave exists in apredetermined frequency band during a predetermined period or not. Whenthe carrier wave detection circuit detects that other apparatuses usethe channels, the carrier wave detection circuit examines an idle stateof channel again after a while. Thereafter, when the detection circuitdetects that the channel is not used by other apparatus, the detectioncircuit notifies the microprocessor 115 of the image apparatus 100 thatthe channel is empty. The microprocessor 115 outputs a channel userequest signal as the inter-apparatus control signal through a QPSKmodulation/demodulation circuit 803 to ensure the use right of thechannel. Then, the microprocessor 115 sends a transmission requestsignal to the bit selection circuit 811. An error control circuit 843adds error control bit for detection and correction of error to thetransmission request signal to be transmitted to the QPSKmodulation/demodulation circuit 803. The QPSK modulation/demodulationcircuit 803 subjects signal to QPSK modulation and transmits radiosignal to the image display apparatus 200 through the antenna 83. On theother hand, the image display apparatus 200 subjects the radio signalreceived by the antenna 86 to QPSK demodulation by means of a QPSKmodulation/demodulation circuit 806 and subjects the demodulated signalto error detection and correction control by means of an error controlcircuit 847, so that the image display apparatus 200 outputs theinter-apparatus control signal to be transmitted to the bit selectioncircuit 812.

The microprocessor of the image display apparatus 200 decodes thereceived inter-apparatus control signal and receives apparatus categoryinformation (for identifying a category indicating whether the apparatusis a display apparatus or a recording apparatus) concerning the imageapparatus 100 and an apparatus identification number of the imageapparatus 100 together with the transmission request signal from theimage apparatus 100. Inquiry as to whether connection to the imageapparatus 100 is made or not is displayed in the display screen of theimage display apparatus 200 and accordingly the user issues aninstruction for permitting the connection in response to the displayedinquiry by means of an input device such as a remote-control device ofthe image display apparatus 200. Then, mutual apparatus categoryinformation and identification numbers for identifying mutualapparatuses are exchanged between the image apparatus 100 and the imagedisplay apparatus 200 and information for observing the protection ofcopyright for content and restriction conditions of copy is alsoexchanged, so that when there is no problem, mutual connection ispermitted. When the mutual apparatuses are input-only apparatus or whenconnection has no meaning as in case of an output-only apparatus or whenthe protection of copyright for content or restriction conditions ofcopy are violated, connection is stopped and indication to that effectis displayed in the respective apparatuses. The following description ismade to the case where there is no problem in regard to the protectionof copyright for content and the restriction conditions of copy.

Two bits from the most significant bit (MSB) of the picture signal amongpicture signal, audio signal and control signal indicating protection ofcopyright for content and restriction conditions of copy relative to thesignals are selected and control bit for error detection and correctionis added to the two bits by an error control circuit 841 to betransmitted to a QPSK modulation/demodulation circuit 801. The QPSKmodulation/demodulation circuit 801 subjects this signal to QPSKmodulation and sends out the radio signal from the antenna 81. An errorcontrol circuit 842 adds control bit for error detection and correctionto remaining bits from third to eighth bits to be transmitted to a64-QAM modulation/demodulation circuit 802. This signal is subjected to64-QAM modulation by the 64-QAM modulation/demodulation circuit 802 tobe transmitted from the antenna 82 as a radio signal.

In the image display apparatus 200, the QPSK modulation/demodulationcircuit 804 subjects the signal received by the antenna 84 to QPSKdemodulation and an error control circuit 845 subjects the signal toerror control. Then, the higher-order two bits of the picture signal issupplied to the bit control circuit 812. A 64-QAMmodulation/demodulation circuit 805 subjects the remaining signalreceived by the antenna 85 to 64-QAM demodulation and an error controlcircuit 846 subjects the signal to error control. Then, the signal issupplied to the bit control circuit 812.

The inter-apparatus control signal is now described. When theinter-apparatus control signal is transmitted in the down direction,that is, from the image display apparatus 200 to the image apparatus100, the inter-apparatus control signal is transmitted from the bitselection circuit 812 through the error control circuit 847 to the QPSKmodulation/demodulation circuit 806, in which the signal is modulated tobe outputted from the antenna 86. The image apparatus 100 receives thesignal by the antenna 83 to be supplied to the QPSKmodulation/demodulation circuit 803, in which the signal is subjected toQPSK demodulation and the demodulated signal is subjected to errordetection and correction by the error control circuit 843 to betransmitted to the bit selection circuit 811. To the contrary, when theinter-apparatus control signal is transmitted in the up direction, thatis, from the image apparatus 100 to the image display apparatus 200, theinter-apparatus control signal is transmitted from the bit selectioncircuit 811 through the error control circuit 843 to the QPSKmodulation/demodulation circuit 803, in which the signal is modulated tobe outputted from the antenna 83. The image display apparatus 200receives the signal by the antenna 86 to be supplied to the QPSKmodulation/demodulation circuit 806, in which the signal is subjected toQPSK demodulation and the demodulated signal is subjected to errordetection and correction by the error control circuit 847 to betransmitted to the bit selection circuit 812. By configured as above,the apparatuses can effectively reduce malfunction for theinter-apparatus control signal important in construction of the systemeven in circumstances having increased noise.

In the configuration of the embodiment, the higher-order two bits of thedigital signal can be transmitted with excellent noise-resistantperformance although the transmission rate thereof is low. That is, twobits of the picture signal are taken out in order from the mostsignificant bit (MSB) thereof by utilizing the fact that higher bits ofthe picture signal greatly influences the picture quality and thetransmission path using the QPSK modulation is assigned to theinformation to reduce deterioration of the picture quality.Incidentally, in the system in which audio information is more importantthan picture information, the transmission path using the QPSKmodulation can be assigned to two important bits (for example, high 2bits) of the audio signal.

Moreover, when man recognizes a picture, there is a tendency of beingrelatively unconcerned about the high frequency components in thehorizontal and vertical directions of the picture screen as comparedwith the low frequency components thereof. Further, man's eyes tend notto follow quick motion of an object moving on the picture screen. Thetendencies may be utilized to divide the frequency components in thehorizontal direction of the picture screen into the low frequencycomponents and the high frequency components, so that the QPSKmodulation may be used for the low frequency components and the 64-QAMmodulation may be used for the high frequency components. By doing so,noise tolerance is enhanced for important information, so that the wholetransmission capacity can be ensured in the limited transmission band.Similarly, the frequency components in the vertical direction of thepicture screen may be also divided into the low frequency components andthe high frequency components, so that the QPSK modulation may be usedfor the low frequency components and the 64-QAM modulation may be usedfor the high frequency components. Thus, noise tolerance is enhanced forimportant information, so that the whole transmission capacity can beensured in the limited transmission band. Treatment of the frequencycomponents in the horizontal direction of the picture screen can becombined with that in the vertical direction, so that noise tolerancecan be enhanced for desired important information.

In the foregoing description, the error control circuits 841, 842 and843 add error control information to bits inputted thereto, althoughbits inputted to the error control circuits 841, 842 and 843 may betreated as one word, so that error control information may be added tothis one word. By configured thus, the error control circuit can beformed simply.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 8, for example, a plurality of stillpictures photographed by the image apparatus 1 are switched atpredetermined periods of one second, for example, to be transmitted tothe image display apparatus 200 or the image apparatus 2, so that theplurality of transmitted still pictures can be displayed in the imagedisplay apparatus 200 or the image display 2. The image displayapparatus 200 or the image display 2 transmits a picture request signalfor transmitting picture to the image apparatus 1, so that the imageapparatus 1 switches the plurality of still pictures to transmit thestill picture to the image display apparatus 200 or the image apparatusin response to the picture request signal. By configured thus, when thepicture cannot be reproduced by the image display apparatus 200 or theimage apparatus 2, the picture request signal is transmitted to theimage apparatus 1 again, so that the transmission can be repeated untilthe picture can be received correctly. Even in this case, the picturerequest signal uses the QPSK modulation and accordingly noise-resistantperformance is satisfactory.

Referring now to FIG. 10, an embodiment for getting a picture from theimage apparatus 1 by means of the picture request signal to display itin the display apparatus is described. In the embodiment, the pluralityof still pictures photographed by the image apparatus 1 are switched tobe displayed in the image display apparatus 200 by way of example,although the pictures may be displayed in the image apparatus 2similarly.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of the display apparatus constructedto display still pictures from the image apparatus 1. In thisembodiment, a television display apparatus having a high definition (HD)display 1002 is used as the display apparatus. In FIG. 10, an imageapparatus 1020 is concretely digital camera, mobile telephone, gamemachine, personal medium player or the like. In the embodiment, theimage apparatus 1020 transmits still pictures to the image displayapparatus 200 (television display apparatus) through two interfaces. Oneis HDMI for transmitting still picture as baseband picture informationand the other is USB (Universal Serial Bus) for transmitting stillpicture as compressed picture information. The compressed pictureinformation transmitted by USB is supposed to be compressed in JPEGformat.

Configuration and operation of the image apparatus 1020 are firstdescribed. When the image apparatus 1020 transmits still picture ofcompressed picture information, the image apparatus 1020 reads out stillpicture compressed in JPEG format from a memory 1018 formed by a flashmemory, for example. The still picture is supplied to a USB terminal1012 constituting a first input device of the image display apparatus200 from a USB mass storage interface circuit 1019 without performingsignal processing such as extension processing.

On the other hand, when the image apparatus 1020 transmits still pictureof baseband picture information, the image apparatus 1020 first readsout the still picture from the memory 1018. Since the still picture iscompressed in the JPEG format, the still picture is subjected to signalprocessing for extending the compressed picture by means of a signalprocessing circuit 1016 to produce baseband picture information. Thebaseband picture information is transmitted from HDMI interface circuit1017 to HDMI terminal 1005 constituting a second input device of theimage display apparatus 200.

Then, configuration and operation of the image display apparatus 200 isdescribed. The still picture of compressed picture information inputtedto the USB terminal 1012 constituting the first input device is suppliedto an image processing circuit 1006 through a USB host interface circuit1011. The image processing circuit 1006 includes JPEG data file accesscircuit 1010, JPEG decoder circuit 1009, resize and effect additioncircuit 1008 and image stream signalization circuit 1007. The stillpicture inputted to the USB terminal 1012 is supplied to the JPEGdecoder circuit 1009 through the JPEG data file access circuit 1010, inwhich the still picture compressed in the JPEG format is decoded, thatis, extended. The extended still picture is supplied to the resize andeffect addition circuit 1008 to change the display size (numbers ofpixels in horizontal and vertical directions) and is subjected todesired effect processing (for example, rotation processing). The stillpicture subjected to change of size and the like by the resize andeffect addition circuit 1008 is converted into a picture signal fordisplay by the image stream signalization circuit 1007 and is suppliedto the HD display 1002 through a switching circuit 1003. Thus, thecompressed still picture inputted through the USB host interface circuit1011 is displayed in the HD display 1002.

In the embodiment, the first input device to which the compressedpicture information is inputted includes LAN terminal 1014 capable ofbeing connected to various network 1015 such as radio LAN, wired LAN andInternet. Accordingly, in the embodiment, the compressed picture can beobtained through not only USB interface but also network 1015. Thecompressed picture information inputted to the LAN terminal 1014 issupplied to the image processing circuit 1006 through LAN and DLNA(Digital Living Network Alliance) interface circuit. The processing inthe image processing circuit 1006 is the same as the processing to thecompressed picture information inputted through the USB terminal 1012 asdescribed above and repeated description thereof is omitted.

On the other hand, the still picture of baseband picture informationinputted to the HDMI terminal 1005 constituting the second input deviceis subjected to predetermined decode processing (encryption releaseprocessing) by means of HDMI interface/decoder circuit 1004. The stillpicture subjected to the encryption release processing is supplied tothe HD display 1002 through the switching circuit 1003 and is displayedin the HD display 1002.

The switching circuit 1003 selects any one of the still picture inputtedto the HDMI terminal 1005 and the still picture inputted to the USBterminal or LAN terminal 1014 to be supplied to the HD display 1002 andis controlled by operator's operation of the remote-control device forthe image display apparatus 200, for example. Accordingly, the user canselect the compressed picture information or baseband pictureinformation in accordance with user's desire to display it in the HDdisplay 1002.

In the embodiment, HDMI and USB interfaces are used as the interfacesfor connecting to the image apparatus 1020, although interfaces havingother standards may be used.

Supplementary description is made to the HDMI interface before operationof the embodiment based on the image request signal is described. FIG.16 shows a configuration example of the HDMI interface composed oftransmission and receiving sides mainly. The transmission side includesa transmission part 1601 and a transmission side control part 1603 forcontrolling the transmission part 1601. The transmission part 1601encodes picture signals (Y, Pb and Pr) and audio signal to be outputtedto the receiving part 1604.

Moreover, the transmission part 1601 includes TMDS (Transition MinimizedDifferential Signaling) encoder circuit 1602, which converts the picturesignals (Y, Pb and Pr) and the audio signal into serial picture data andserial audio data, respectively. On the other hand, the receiving sideincludes a receiving part 1604 and a receiving side control part 1606for controlling the receiving part 1604. The receiving part 1604 decodesthe picture data and the audio data transmitted from the transmissionpart 1601 by TMDS decoder 1605 to reproduce baseband picture data andaudio data. A CEC line 1607 constitutes an apparatus control line fortransmitting control signal for apparatus and display specificationinformation named DDC (Display Data Channel) is transmitted through DDCline 1608. Further, the receiving side transmits HPD (Hot Plug Detect)signal 1609 indicating that transmission-side apparatus is connected toreceiving side apparatus.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a format of a remote-control codetransmitted through the CEC line 1607. As shown in FIG. 17, theremote-control code is of 48-bit length and includes a maker code of 16bits for identifying a maker and an apparatus code of 12 bits foridentifying an apparatus such as an apparatus kind number and amanufacture's serial number of the apparatus. The format of theremote-control code may be any format except FIG. 17. Furthermore, theremote-control code is not limited to 48-bit length and may be of anybit length. Next, an example of the method of transmitting theremote-control code through the CEC line is described with reference toFIG. 18. First, when the image apparatus is connected to the displayapparatus, the HPD signal 1609 indicating that the image apparatus hasbeen connected to the display apparatus is transmitted from the displayapparatus to the image apparatus. Then, the display apparatus 200 readsin the maker code and the apparatus code of the image apparatus throughthe CEC line 1607 of HDMI cable. The read-in maker code and apparatuscode are stored in the display apparatus 200 together with a receivinginterface number. The maker code and the apparatus code may be stored inmemory of microcomputer not shown, for example, of the display apparatus200. When another HDMI cable is connected, the HDMI cable is subjectedto the same processing, in which the maker code and the apparatus codethereof are stored in the display apparatus together with a receivinginterface number. The read-in maker code and apparatus code are storedas a table shown in FIG. 19. By configured thus, even when makers of thedisplay apparatus 200 and the image apparatus 1020 connected to eachother are different, for example, communication therebetween can beestablished with reference to the stored maker code and apparatus code,so that the image apparatus 1020 can control the display apparatus 200and the display apparatus 200 can transmit display specificationinformation (DDC) to the image apparatus 1020.

Returning to FIG. 10 again, operation of the embodiment based on theimage request signal is described. In FIG. 10, the user operates theinput device such as remote-control device and keyboard of the imagedisplay apparatus 200, so that the input device issues a control commandto change the mode to a display mode for displaying the still picture asdescribed above. In accordance with the control command, the JPEG datafile access circuit 1010 of the image display apparatus 200 transmitsthe image request signal so that the still picture of compressed pictureinformation is outputted to the external image apparatus 1020 throughthe USB host interface circuit 1011 and the USB terminal 1012. In otherwords, in this example, the JPEG data file access circuit 1010 functionsas a transmission part for transmitting the image request signal to theexternal image apparatus 1020. The image request signal is transmittedat predetermined intervals (for example, at intervals of one second)from the image display apparatus 200 to the image apparatus 1020. Theimage apparatus 1020 outputs the still picture data stored in the memory1018 through the USB mass storage interface circuit 1019 in response tothe image request signal. The USB host interface circuit 1011 takes inthe still picture data from the USB terminal 1012. Thereafter, the JPEGdecoder circuit 1009 decodes the read-in JPEG data to be restored tooriginal picture data. The picture data is subjected to resize andeffect processing by means of the resize and effect addition circuit1008 to be converted into the picture signal for display by the imagestream signalization circuit 1007 and be displayed in the HD display1002.

The processing from the transmission of the image request signal to theconversion processing of the picture signal for display by the imagestream signalization circuit 1007 is repeated at predetermined intervals(for example, one second) to thereby perform the picture display methodnamed a slide show of changing over a plurality of still picturesobtained from the image apparatus 1020 at predetermined intervals anddisplaying them. It is a matter of course that the interval is notlimited to one second and may be any intervals and can be changedproperly by the user by means of the input device. The image requestsignal may be outputted repeatedly until all still pictures are read outfrom the image apparatus 1020, although a predetermined period (forexample, ten second to one minute) may be defined and the image requestsignal may be transmitted at predetermined intervals during thepredetermined period.

Furthermore, the microcomputer (not shown) of the image displayapparatus 200 can also transmit the image request signal to the imageapparatus 1020 through the HDMI interface/decoder circuit 1004 and theHDMI terminal 1005. In this case, since the HDMI interface is aninterface of transmitting moving picture, moving picture which is notchanged temporally is transmitted as far as there is no specifiedcontrol.

First, the user operates the input device such as remote-control deviceand keyboard of the image display apparatus 200 to output the controlcommand from the input device so that the mode is changed to the displaymode. The HDMI interface/decoder circuit 1004 transmits the imagerequest signal to the image apparatus 1020 through the CEC line of theHDMI terminal 1005 in response to the control command. That is, in thisexample, the HDMI interface/decoder circuit 1004 functions as thetransmission part for transmitting the image request signal to theexternal image apparatus 1020. The image request signal is transmittedfrom the image display apparatus 200 to the image apparatus 1020 atpredetermined periods (for example, at intervals of one second) duringseveral seconds to one minute, for example, in the same manner as above.The image apparatus 1020 converts still picture data stored in thememory 1018 into a signal format displayable as moving picture by meansof the signal processing circuit 1016 in response to the image requestsignal to be outputted through the HDMI interface circuit 1017.

The image display apparatus 200 receives the data through the HDMIterminal 1005 and the HDMI interface/decoder circuit 1004 to bedisplayed in the HD display. This processing is performed repeatedly atpredetermined intervals, so that the picture display named a slide showcan be performed similarly. The time interval may be changed properly bythe user. The image request signal may be outputted repeatedly until allstill pictures are read out from the image apparatus 100 or the imagerequest signal may be transmitted at predetermined intervals during apredetermined period as described above.

Furthermore, the method of displaying the picture information from theimage apparatus 1020 in the image display apparatus 200 has beendescribed so far, although even when the picture information exists inthe network 1015, the slide show display can be performed in the samemanner In this case, the JPEG data file access circuit 1010 of the imagedisplay apparatus 200 receives the control command from the input deviceand transmits it to the network 1015 through the LAN and DLNA interfacecircuit 1013 and the LAN terminal 1014. At this time, an address (forexample, IP address) in the network of the image apparatus connected tothe network is added to the image request signal. The picture signalcorresponding to the address added to the image request signal is stillpicture data transmitted as compressed picture information responsive tothe image request signal. The still picture data is supplied through theLAN terminal 1014 and the LAN and DLNA interface circuit 1013 to theJPEG decoder circuit 1009. The subsequent processing is the same as theprocessing for the still picture inputted to the USB terminal 1012 andaccordingly repeated description thereof is omitted.

In order to realize the network function, in the embodiment, the LANterminal 1014 and the LAN and DLNA interface 1013 are provided, althoughthe HDMI interface or the USB interface may be expanded to have the samefunction.

FIG. 11 illustrates another embodiment according to the presentinvention. In FIG. 11, the same constituent elements as those shown inFIG. 10 are designated by the same reference numerals as those of FIG.10. The configuration of FIG. 11 is different from that of FIG. 10 inthat signal routes from the USB terminal 1012 and the LAN terminal 1014in the display apparatus of FIG. 10 are deleted. Furthermore, theconfiguration of FIG. 11 is also different from that of FIG. 10 in thata PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) (protocol for connecting a digitalcamera and a personal computer (PC) through USB to make transfer andcontrol of picture) control circuit 1101 and a LAN interface circuit1102 are newly provided instead of the USB mass storage interfacecircuit 1019 in the image apparatus 1020. Operation for the route of theHDMI terminal is the same in FIGS. 10 and 11, so that the slide show canbe performed. When the configuration of FIG. 11 is used, theconfiguration of the display apparatus 200 is simplified and complicatedconnection is not required. Accordingly, user's convenience is improved.In other words, the embodiment can be applied to the configurationhaving only the first input device, that is, it can be applied even tothe configuration in which still picture of baseband picture informationis displayed. Moreover, in this example, one system of the HDMIinterface is provided, although two or more systems thereof may beprovided.

Furthermore, another display aspect in the image display apparatus 200of a plurality of still pictures photographed by the image apparatus 1is now described with reference to FIG. 10. In such a display aspect,the plurality of still pictures are displayed on a reduced scale in onepicture screen of the HD display 1002 simultaneously.

In FIG. 10, the JPEG data file access circuit 1010 of the image displayapparatus 200 transmits an image acquirement request of still picture tothe image apparatus 1020 through the USB host interface circuit 1011 andthe USB terminal 1012. The image apparatus 1020 outputs still picturedata of compressed picture information stored in the memory 1018 throughthe USB mass storage interface circuit 1019 in response to the imageacquirement request. The USB host interface circuit 1011 reads in thestill picture data through the USB terminal 1012. Thereafter, the JPEGdecoder circuit 1009 JPEG-decodes the read-in JPEG data to restoreoriginal picture data. The resize and effect addition circuit 1008subjects the picture data to resize and effect processing to betemporarily stored as picture in a place corresponding to a displayposition 1 of FIG. 12. Similarly, the JPEG data file access circuit 1010transmits an image acquirement request of next still picture to theimage apparatus 1020 through the USB host interface circuit 1011 and theUSB terminal 1012. The image apparatus 1020 outputs still picture dataof next compressed picture information stored in the memory 1018 throughthe USB mass storage interface circuit 1019 in response to the imageacquirement request. The USB host interface circuit 1011 reads in thestill picture data through the USB terminal 1012. Thereafter, the JPEGdecoder circuit 1009 JPEG-decodes the read-in JPEG data to restoreoriginal picture data. The resize and effect addition circuit 1008subjects the picture data to resize and effect processing to betemporarily stored as picture in a place corresponding to a displayposition 2 of FIG. 12. The processing from transmission of the imageacquirement request to temporary storage of picture is performedrepeatedly 12 times, for example, so that a plurality of still picturesnamed thumbnail display can be displayed together as shown in FIG. 12.This processing is performed by transmitting to the image apparatus 1020the image acquirement requests 12 times during a predetermined period(for example, during one second or less).

When there are 12 or more still pictures in the image apparatus 1020,thumbnail display is made every 12 pictures. In such a display method,since a plurality of pictures can be viewed simultaneously, it isconvenient that difference in color and subtle difference in scenes canbe understood easily.

In the embodiment, in order to explain the operation simply, the singleimage apparatus 1020 is connected, although two image apparatuses 1020can be connected and accordingly the two image apparatuses can be usedto view 6 pictures, for example, in the respective image apparatuses inparallel simultaneously. By doing so, differences in color andbrightness due to scattering of two image apparatuses 1020 anddifference in photographing conditions can be confirmed and accordinglynecessary picture can be selected from pictures displayed in two imageapparatuses easily.

The display function can be realized even by using the configuration ofFIG. 11. Operation has the same effect in FIGS. 10 and 11 and aplurality of still pictures photographed by the image apparatus 1 can bedisplayed together. When the configuration of FIG. 11 is used, theconfiguration of the display apparatus 200 is simplified and complicatedconnection is not required. Accordingly, user's convenience is enhanced.In this case, a memory for combining a plurality of small pictures isrequired, although the plurality of small pictures may be previouslycombined in the memory 1018 of the image apparatus 1020 and thentransmitted to the image display apparatus 200 or a memory (not shown)may be provided after the HDMI interface circuit and the decoder circuit1004 and the small pictures may be stored in the memory. Eitherconfiguration is used to attain the same effects as FIG. 10.

In the above description, the number of still pictures displayedsimultaneously is 12, although the still pictures may be displayed intwo rows in the vertical direction and in three columns in thehorizontal direction as shown in FIG. 13. Furthermore, as shown in FIG.14, the still pictures may be displayed in three rows in the verticaldirection and in three columns in the horizontal direction. When thedivision number as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is used, the resolution ofthe HD display 1002 is 1080×1920. Accordingly, the resolution of asingle small picture is about 300×500, so that difference in picture canbe easily recognized. Moreover, when the small picture itself becomessmaller, flicker occurs in the picture screen, although the division ofFIGS. 13 and 14 can be used to reduce the flicker. On the other hand,when pictures from a digital camera are inputted in case where thedivision of FIG. 12 is used, the pictures can be arranged to bedisplayed together in the HD display 1002 having the aspect ratio of16:9 effectively since the aspect ratio of the pictures is substantially4:3. Even when the pictures are arranged to be displayed together asshown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the substantially same effect can be attained,although there is an area where picture is not displayed slightly.

Attribute information such as rotation information of picture andmiss-elimination preventing lock information for prevention ofmiss-elimination is added to the pictures stored in the memory 1018 ofthe image apparatus 1020. In the embodiment, the attribute informationis adapted to be sent from the image display apparatus 200 through theHDMI terminal 1005 to the image apparatus 1020 by operation ofremote-control device or keyboard of the image display apparatus 200 tobe stored in the memory 1018. FIG. 15 shows an example of a managementtable of the attribute information stored in the memory 1018. As shownin FIG. 15, the attribute information concerning propriety ofelimination lock and rotation angle can be added to each of theplurality of still pictures stored in the memory 1018 of the imageapparatus 1020 in accordance with signal from the image displayapparatus 200. In such configuration, since the apparatus directlycontrolled by the user is always the image display apparatus 200, theuser can control miss-elimination preventing lock and rotation ofpicture by the same operation even if any image apparatus 1020 isconnected, so that the user is not required to memorize complicatedoperation for each image apparatus 1020 and the convenience is improved.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the encryption processing is notdescribed in detail, although the encryption circuit 171 and theinterface circuit 172 can be combined to perform processing as shown inFIG. 9. FIG. 9 illustrates an example of configuration for performingencryption processing in the system shown in FIG. 8. The system of FIG.9 includes encryption/decryption circuits 821 to 826, interface circuits830 and 831 containing encryption processing and error control circuits841, 842, 843, 845, 846 and 847.

Similarly to the example of FIG. 8, in an example shown in FIG. 9,predetermined bits are selected by bit selection circuit 811 andsubjected to error control by respective error control circuits 841,842. Thereafter, the error controlled bits are subjected to encryptionprocessing by the encryption/decryption circuits 821, 822 to be inputtedto the QPSK modulation/demodulation circuit 801 and the 64-QAMmodulation/demodulation circuit 802. The signals demodulated by the QPSKmodulation/demodulation circuit 804 and the 64-QAMmodulation/demodulation circuit 805 are inputted to theencryption/decryption circuits 824 and 825, in which the encryptedsignal is decrypted. Then, the decrypted signals are subjected to bitcombination by the bit selection circuit 812. By performing suchprocessing, signal processing can be performed in accordance withimportance of information and important information is difficult tomistake, so that deterioration in picture quality is reduced and thesignal can be transmitted effectively.

Moreover, reversible sign can be combined with the encryption/decryptioncircuits 821 to 826, so that more efficient transmission can beattained. In the example shown in FIG. 9, for example, before theencryption processing is performed by the encryption/decryption circuits821 to 823, bits to be transmitted are reduced by reversible arithmeticsign using statistical property, for example, and then the encryptionprocessing is performed. In the image display apparatus 200, afterdecryption processing is performed by the encryption/decryption circuits824 to 826, the reversible sign corresponding to theencryption/decryption circuit 821 to 823 is decrypted. Thereafter, theerror control circuits 845 to 847 perform error detection and correctionand the bit selection circuit 812 performs bit combination. Since thecombination with the reversible signal can reduce the transmission rateof information to be transmitted, transmission can be performedefficiently.

Furthermore, supplementary description is made to encryption. When AES(Advanced Encryption Standard) 128-bit encryption processing is used forall of the encryption circuits, protection processing having highsecurity can be performed. When AES 128-bit encryption processing isused for the content encryption circuit 821 and DES (Data EncryptionStandard) encryption processing is used for other encryption circuits,the system in which protection of content important as the system isbalanced with processing efficiency is configured easily.

Furthermore, transmission of baseband signal and transmission ofcompressed signal may be switched in accordance with the inter-apparatuscontrol signal. By configured in this manner, when the compressed signalis transmitted in response to a request of protection of content, QPSKmodulation is used to make transmission, so that transmission havingexcellent error tolerance in the transmission path can be attained.Further, when the baseband signal is transmitted, transmission havingexcellent transmission efficiency can be performed by 64-QAM modulation.

Operation of the image apparatus 100 and the image display apparatus 200in FIG. 9 is basically the same as that of the image apparatus 100 andthe image display apparatus 200 in FIG. 8. In order to make the imageapparatus 100 perform transmission, first, a carrier wave detectioncircuit (not shown) examines whether use channels are already occupiedby other apparatuses or not. Detection of carrier wave is performed bydetecting whether the carrier wave exists during a predetermined periodin a predetermined frequency band or not. When the carrier wavedetection circuit detects that other apparatuses use the channels, thecarrier wave detection circuit examines an idle state of channel againafter a while. Thereafter, when the detection circuit detects that thechannel is not used by other apparatus, the detection circuit notifiesthe microprocessor 115 of the image apparatus 100 that the channel isempty. The microprocessor 115 outputs a channel use request signal asthe inter-apparatus control signal through QPSK modulation/demodulationcircuit 803 to ensure the use right of channel. Then, the microprocessor115 sends a transmission request signal to the bit selection circuit811.

An error control circuit 843 adds error control bit for error detectionand correction to the transmission request signal and theencryption/decryption circuit 823 encrypts the signal to be transmittedto the QPSK modulation/demodulation circuit 803.

The QPSK modulation/demodulation circuit 803 subjects the signal to QPSKmodulation and transmits radio signal to the image display apparatus 200through the antenna 83. On the other hand, the image display apparatus200 subjects the radio signal received by the antenna 86 to QPSKdemodulation by means of QPSK modulation/demodulation circuit 806 andencryption/decryption circuit 826 decrypts the encrypted signal. Thedecrypted signal is subjected to error detection and correction controlby means of the error control circuit 847, so that the inter-apparatuscontrol signal is outputted to be transmitted to the bit selectioncircuit 812. The microprocessor of the image display apparatus 200decodes the received inter-apparatus control signal and receivesapparatus category information (for identifying a category indicatingwhether the apparatus is a display apparatus or a recording apparatus)concerning the image apparatus 100 and an apparatus identificationnumber of the image apparatus 100 together with the transmission requestsignal from the image apparatus 100. Inquiry as to whether connection tothe image apparatus 100 is made or not is displayed in the displayscreen of the image display apparatus 200 and accordingly the userissues an instruction for permitting the connection in response to thedisplayed inquiry by means of an input device such as a remote-controldevice of the image display apparatus 200. Then, mutual apparatuscategory information and identification numbers for identifying mutualapparatuses are exchanged between the image apparatus 100 and the imagedisplay apparatus 200 and information for observing the protection ofcopyright for content and restriction conditions of copy is alsoexchanged, so that when there is no problem, mutual connection ispermitted. When the mutual apparatuses are input-only apparatus or whenconnection has no meaning as in case of an output-only apparatus or whenthe protection of copyright for content or restriction conditions ofcopy are violated, connection is stopped and indication to that effectis displayed in the respective apparatuses. Thus, when there is noproblem in the protection of copyright for content and restrictionconditions of copy, connection is made and picture and audio signals aretransmitted from the image apparatus 100 to the image display apparatus200.

Embodiment 2

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an image displayapparatus 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 5 has part common to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 and theelements in the common part are designated by the same referencenumerals. Detailed description thereof is omitted. The image displayapparatus 200 shown in FIG. 5 includes an encryption/decryption circuit212, encryption/decryption circuits 245, 290, compression/transcodingcircuit 291, 292 and a copy control circuit 293 constituting amultiplexing circuit.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, when a baseband signal is inputtedfrom terminal 201 or 202, the image display apparatus 200 operates inthe same manner as the embodiment shown in FIG. 4. Thecompression/transcoding circuits 292, 291 operate as compression circuitfor the baseband signal. When a compressed signal is inputted from theterminal 201 or 202, the signal is supplied through input/outputinterface 210 to the encryption/decryption circuit 212, in whichencryption necessary for transmission is decrypted and the decryptedsignal is divided into compressed picture signal and compressed audiosignal by demultiplexing circuit 250. Both of the signals are suppliedto copy control circuit 290, which judges whether copy is possible ornot on the basis of information indicating whether copy is possible ornot. When copy is possible, compression/transcoding circuits 291, 292use compression system having more excellent compression efficiency toreduce bit rates of compressed picture and audio signals. Output signalsof the compression/transcoding circuits 291, 292 are multiplexed bymultiplexing circuit 293 to be inputted to encryption/decryption circuit245. When the copy control circuit 290 detects that copy is permitted,the encryption/decryption circuit 245 subjects the input signal toencryption processing for storage and stores it in storage device 230and/or memory 221. When the stored signal is reproduced, thereproduction signal from the storage device 230 or the memory 221 isdecrypted by the encryption/decryption circuit 245 and is divided intopicture and audio signals by the demultiplexing circuit 241. Thereafter,the picture and audio signals are subjected to the same processing asabove to be viewed and listened.

Even when the signals are viewed and listened while being stored in thestorage device 230 or memory 221, the signal from the multiplexingcircuit 293 is inputted through the encryption/decryption circuit 245 tothe demultiplexing circuit 241 to be subjected to the same processing.In this case, transcoded picture quality can be confirmed. When viewingand listening are made directly without storing, the signal is inputtedfrom the encryption/decryption circuit 212 through theencryption/decryption circuit 245 to the demultiplexing circuit 241, inwhich the signal is divided into picture and audio signals to besubjected to the same processing.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, even when the compressed signal isinputted, the signal can be subjected to transcoding to thereby bestored efficiently with higher compression ratio. Furthermore, in theembodiment, measures for processing the signal, including thecompression circuits 111, 113 are realized by means of circuits by wayof example. However, various circuit elements may be formed by softwaremeasures to realize the above processing and even in this case the sameeffects can be attained. The present invention does not limit how thesignal processing is realized.

It should be further understood by those skilled in the art thatalthough the foregoing description has been made on embodiments of theinvention, the invention is not limited thereto and various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device, comprising: a first input unitwhich is capable of connecting via a first and a second interfaces withan external image apparatus that stores a plurality of pieces ofcompressed still picture information and inputting compressed stillpicture information from the external image apparatus via the firstinterface, an extension unit which extends the compressed still pictureinformation inputted to the first input unit and generates a secondbaseband still picture information; a second input unit which is capableof inputting baseband moving picture information from the external imageapparatus via the second interface; a display unit which displayspicture based on the picture information inputted to the first and thesecond input units; a third input unit which inputs a user operation onthe display device via a remote controller; the display unit has: afirst display mode for displaying on the display unit the secondbaseband still picture information generated by extending the compressedstill picture information inputted to the first input unit; and a seconddisplay mode for, in accordance with the user operation inputted to thethird input unit via the remote controller, outputting to the externalapparatus a picture acquisition request signal for extending a pluralpieces of compressed still picture information stored in the externalapparatus to convert the extended information to a baseband movingpicture information switched at a predetermined time interval and outputthe baseband moving picture information, and displaying on the displayunit the baseband moving picture information inputted to the secondinput unit from the external apparatus in response to the pictureacquisition request signal.
 2. The display device according to claim 1,wherein the first interface is a USB interface and the second interfaceis a HDM Interface.
 3. The display device according to claim 2, whereinthe predetermined time interval is variable by a user operation.
 4. Thedisplay device according to claim 2, wherein attribute information ofthe compressed still picture information stored in the externalapparatus is capable of being added or changed by a user operation.